Council seeks to streamline social house system

Author: Jon King

The Community Council voted March 3 to request that the College's Inter-House Council (IHC) clarify the procedures for establishing new social houses on campus by writing a manual. Discussion of the motion followed negotiation among council members and house representatives about possibly permitting second-semester first-years to join campus social houses.

Alpha Omega, Kappa Delta Rho and Delta Houses received their organizational status from former fraternities after administrators banned the College's Greek system nearly two decades ago. Students established The Mill and Xenia, however, long after the ban and without association to pre-existing Greek houses. No new social houses have been created since Xenia in 1998.

IHC members Nicole MacMillan '09 and Tarrah Bowen '08 proposed that a new manual standardizing the social house creation process would encourage interested students to pursue ideas for new houses. Illustrating possible inefficacies of the process' current procedures, MacMillan mentioned the abandonment of students' plans to establish Sigma Moo, a new social house proposed last spring.

Dean of the College Tim Spears asserted that Sigma Moo failed to become a reality not due to its founding members' inability to navigate the establishment process but because students seemed to generally lose interest in the project. He immediately supported the idea for the manual, however.

"It's been a while since someone created a social house," Spears said. "We need more transparency in the process." He also suggested that the standardization proposal might generate a firmer structural foundation for new social houses, ensuring the houses' longevity and legitimacy in the College's social scene.

Council members will examine the new manual after IHC members make a draft in the coming weeks.

The Council also discussed the IHC's proposal to allow second-semester first-years to join social houses. Currently, September-admitted students cannot enter the social house system until the beginning of their sophomore year, whereas February-admitted students have the option of pledging as early as their second semester at the College. The IHC's proposal seeks to help the social houses attract younger, more enthusiastic members.

MacMillan and Bowen asserted that the inconsistencies between pledge times for February-admitted students and September-admitted may undermine the policy's legitimacy.

Peyton Coles '08.5 reminded the council, however, that because February-admitted students come to campus to find an already established network of first-year friendships, the group as a whole does not need as much time as September-admitted students to explore and create social niches.

"We arrive with a lot of the puzzle pieces already in place," Coles said.

The Council and IHC representatives considered the consequences that would face students joining social houses in first-year spring. Some worried that the time-consuming pledge process might prevent first-year students from expanding a still-limited knowledge of all social outlets available to them.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics Emily Proctor, who joined Bowdoin's similar social house system in the spring of her first year there, regretted her decision to pledge so early.

"I missed out on having a chance to make more of a network outside of my house," Proctor said.

Macmillan and Bowen clarified, however, that many students become house members specifically in order to involve themselves with a new social group.

"The system isn't socially exclusive," said Bowen. "I've been able to meet so many people I wouldn't have met otherwise."